Biography
Height - 5'2.5"
Eyes - Brown
Zienia Merton was born on December 11th, 1945 in Burma (now known as Myanmar!) and was brought up in Singapore and Borneo. After schooling in Portugal, Zienia was sent at the age of 11 to a dancing/acting school run by the Arts Education Trust at Tring in Hertfordshire. She then spent her final two years at the London Branch studying drama. With no formal training, she began her acting career as a teenager in the early 1960s - her first professional job was at the age of 11, playing in two Christmas seasons at the Royal Festival Hall in the first major production of The Nutcracker Suite by the London Festival Ballet. The first year she played a Mouse, and in the second year she played both a Mouse and a kitchen maid.
Zienia made her film debut playing a Venusian in the six-part Children's Film Foundation production Masters of Venus and first appeared on television in 1964 during the first season of Doctor Who, as Ping Cho in "Marco Polo". This was followed by appearances in The Beatles' Help!, The Chairman with Gregory Peck, the acclaimed miniseries Casanova, and numerous other television guest appearances including Strange Report and The Benny Hill Show.
Her most famous role to date has been as 'Sandra Benes' in Space: 1999, where she co-starred with Martin Landau, Barbara Bain and Barry Morse. Zienia appeared in 35 episodes of the series, including leading roles in such episodes as "Full Circle" and "The Beta Cloud".
DVD covers from Spain, Espacio: 1999 (above), and from the UK (below), featuring Zienia as Sandra Benes.
Her acting work has enabled her to work in England, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Thailand, Formosa, Portugal and Morocco. She has also played a variety of nationalities including French, Italian, Russian, Portuguese, Indian, Chinese, Vietnamese, Japanese, Greek, Malay, Spanish, and Lebanese.
Accents played: Yorkshire, West Country, Irish, Scottish, French, Italian, Greek, Mid-European, East European, Indian, Chinese, Oriental, American.
Zienia Merton continues to work in television, film and on stage, as well as appearing in commercials and as the host of numerous corporate video productions. She has now launched into the field of writing with her new book, Anecdotes & Armadillos, released worldwide in July, 2005.
Zienia Merton's credits can also be viewed at the IMDB.